What is Going to Happen Now?
by HebrewPrincess91
Summary: AU. The Chosen One is dead, and no one knows what to expect next. Those who knew Anakin best reflect on the impact he had on their lives and ponder what the future will hold without him. Featuring Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padmé Amidala, Bail Organa, Palpatine, Mace Windu, Yoda, Captain Rex and Ahsoka Tano. Set during Episode III.
1. OBI-WAN

The Jedi stood, gathered together on the blustery platform where the memorial was about to begin. The platform hovered over the crowded Coruscant skyline. Everyone who was anyone was there. Jedi, politicians and dignitaries gathered for the occasion with millions more watching from home. Billions of sentients throughout the galaxy all paused to honor their hero, Anakin Skywalker.

The news had come as a shock to virtually everyone. As the story had unfolded and the chain of events had been recounted the reality had been even more shocking.

Anakin was dead and Obi-Wan had killed him.

Obi-Wan stood among the other Jedi. The hood of his robe was pulled up in an effort to remain anonymous. He felt as though he were naked. He wanted to be invisible, he wanted to disappear.

He had failed.

The "Incident" as the commission had called it, took place when he and Anakin had been sent to rescue Chancellor Palpatine. Palpatine had been taken captive and held on Grievous' flagship and held as prisoner above Coruscant. Of course Jedi had been dispatched to rescue him. He and Anakin, a dream team if ever there was one, had been on Grievous' ship when it happened.

They had successfully worked as a team to evade the enemy and board the ship. They had been on their way to the chancellor when they had temporarily been split up. Obi-Wan had taken a lift to get from one part of the ship to another. Anakin had unexpectedly dropped into the lift landing behind Obi-Wan and taking him off guard. Surprised and scared, acting on battle honed instinct Obi-Wan reacted as he would toward an enemy. Kill first, assess damages later.

His strike was true. Anakin was dead.

Initially unable to process what had happened Obi-Wan had automatically continued the mission. He met up with Shaak-Ti and together they rescued the chancellor. In the process the ship had been destroyed with both Grievous and Dooku among the dead.

The war was over. But that didn't matter. Anakin was dead and he, Obi-Wan Kenobi, was to blame.

He had failed, he had failed in the worst way possible.

Obi-Wan felt numb as the memorial proceedings began. Surrounded as he was by people he felt utterly alone. Master Galia gently put a hand on his arm. He knew she was trying to give him courage, but nothing could give him the courage to face anything ever again.

All he could think was: If, and Anakin would still be alive.

If he had trusted the Force instead of his battle paranoia he would have known to not attack.

If he had trained Anakin better he might have blocked the blow.

If he had held Anakin back until he was ready to lead invasions he wouldn't have been anywhere near the battle.

If he hadn't expected so much of Anakin.

If he hadn't given into fear.

If he hadn't let the Dark Side cloud his vision.

And now, even his feelings betrayed his failures as a Jedi. He loved Anakin. He was attached to Anakin.

He had failed.

His grief over Anakin's death weighed on him as an ominous reminder of his attachment, and his failure.

The Chosen One was gone. The Force was still obscured. The boy he had raised into a man was dead. There was nothing left for him.

Qui-Gon was gone. Anakin was gone. Once the memorial was over he would be gone too.

Only, the question remained: What is going to happen now?


	2. PADMÉ

Padmé stood in the crowd of dignitaries on the platform. The mid-morning wind billowed her dark cloak around her. There was no reason, officially, that she should be any more upset over Anakin's death than that of a distant friend. Those who knew her knew better than that.

She stood there, in hood and coif so that she was barely recognizable. Just standing there took everything she had. She felt so unsteady. She was certain that the breeze might just cut her down.

Padmé didn't have time to feel.

She couldn't afford to feel.

Too much was riding on her, she couldn't let her feelings get in the way of her responsibilities. Because, if she felt she would feel like dying. Feeling would make her just give up. Feeling would cause her to be undone. That was not acceptable.

Her grief was building up in her, she could tell that it was. But, she couldn't afford to feel it. Every so often a sensation would stir through her adding to her grief. Every time her baby moved she thought of how Anakin had died without knowing. It was almost more than she could bear.

Her bitterness welled within her, but she pressed it back into place. She only had to last a little longer, and then she could go home. Go back to Naboo. Run away from everything.

Padmé glanced at the contingent of Jedi across the platform. Obi-Wan was there, stark and pale, hiding under a hood of his own. A part of her wanted to talk to him and mourn with him and cling to him because Anakin was gone. Another part of her never wanted to see him again.

She was angry at Obi-Wan. How could he do such a thing! How could he have mistaken Anakin for an enemy! Jedi were supposed to be better than that. Padmé had known Obi-Wan since she was fourteen years old. Even when they disagreed they had remained friends. Well, as far as a friendship could go with Jedi who swear themselves to non-attachment.

As she gazed on him she wished that he would scream, or cry, or rage, or anything! She wished he would mirror the pain she wanted to give reign to. She wanted to know that she had an ally in her suffering. But, she didn't want that ally to be Obi-Wan! She could never trust him again. He had shown that he had no control over himself anymore. She could not trust him.

She had to suffer alone.

There was no one else.

She felt the baby move again. The sensation overwhelmed her. She struggled to keep her despair in check as she briefly considered what kind of life her child would have. With Anakin everything seemed possible. No matter how bad things were Anakin could always make it right. Anakin never gave up until he had fixed it, made it better. Now he was gone, there was no future, nothing was possible. She took a deep breath and braced herself for just a little longer.

Padmé passed a hand over her belly and murmured to her unborn baby. "What's going to happen now?"


	3. BAIL

Bail Organa heard Padmé's murmured words and knew they were not meant for him. He glanced at Padmé from the corner of his eye. His friend and colleague was on the security council alongside him. They had been together when the news of Anakin's death had come through. They had been among the first to know. Bail had never seen Padmé look so ill as she had at that moment. Bail thought he knew why.

While Jedi were supposed to forego attachment; Bail had long suspected that in regards to Padmé Anakin had not. It was none of his business, but seeing Padmé like this was difficult. He wanted to say something, to bring her some comfort and relief, but he could only stand by helplessly. Padmé looked as though she had given up the will to go on and Bail knew all too well that the thought of losing a loved one was hard, the reality of losing a loved one, unbearable.

Anakin was a hero. Anakin had died in the line of duty. Even though he was gone now his service had brought an end to this brutal war. Bail had not known Anakin well, or for very long, but the man had a quality about him that made him seem trustworthy. When Anakin said he was going to save someone he meant it with every fiber of his being. Only, he could not save himself.

Anakin was one of the best the Jedi ever had. Now he was gone.

What would the order do without him?

What would Padmé do without him?

What was going to happen now?


	4. PALPATINE

Palpatine stood to begin the proceedings to memorialize the Hero of the Republic. He went through the motions almost automatically.

"He gave everything he had with no thought for himself."

The words disguised his shock and rage.

"Today we recognize our greatest hero."

Palpatine could not believe this had happened. The boy he had groomed for over a decade had been cut down by a jumpy Jedi. He had foreseen that Anakin's transformation would begin in earnest once aboard Grievous' ship. The Dark Side hadn't even hinted that a battle fatigued Jedi master would be spooked into killing his Sith apprentice to-be.

"No one grieves the loss of our young hero more than I."

That was for certain. Years of planning, and scheming, and machinating, gone! Out the window. He just couldn't process the fact. He knew Anakin had been destined to serve him and destroy the Jedi. The Dark Side had shown it to him. The Dark Side had been wrong. The Dark Side had lied!

"Through his service Anakin has brought an end to this terrible war."

Another part of his plan lain to waste. The leaders dead, the Separatists defanged, his bid for power dismantled, everything he had so carefully built up was in ruins.

Glancing over at Bail Organa he knew that the Alderaanian prince would probably press him to relinquish his special wartime powers on the way back from the memorial. Padmé too, once she got over the initial shock. Those two would not rest until he was once again powerless.

Everything had transpired in a disastrous way. It would be impossible to save this plan. He had to let it die as he devised anew.

"He will never be forgotten. Anakin will indeed live on."

Yes, Palpatine would have to figure out a new plan, victory had been so close this time. Next time it would be attained. For the moment, however, he would wait. Everything was uncertain. The Dark Side showed him nothing. For the moment he was helpless, for the moment he was left to wonder: What is going to happen now?


	5. MACE

Mace Windu tucked his hands deeper inside his robe as the Supreme Chancellor spoke of his deep admiration for young Skywalker. Certainly the boy had admirable qualities, but often people gave him too much credit because of that prophecy.

The Chosen One. Huh. Some Chosen One. Mace had always been a pragmatic man, and vague prophecies had always given him a headache.

Anakin had been special, certainly, but he had never had enough balance within himself to truly reach his potential, let alone bring balance to the Force. Mace always felt that young Skywalker was given too much credit, and responsibility, because of his Chosen One status, a status that he really did not deserve. It was far too much to expect the boy to live up to. There was no way he could ever do what was expected of him, no matter how talented he was.

Mace felt a kind of grim sorrow at Anakin's passing. He had been right about the boy, but it did not make him happy. If others had realized from the start that Anakin, while extremely powerful in many ways, was too young and inexperienced to go to war maybe he would still be alive. If others had realized that Anakin, as a boy, was too old to be trained and shaped as a Jedi then he most certainly would still be alive. Yes, the boy had been powerful, but power is not everything.

Through the Force Mace could feel echoes of pain emanating from those gathered for the memorial. The pain of Obi-Wan and Padmé was exceptionally clear. Both of them would suffer for many years to come because everyone had expected far too much from a half trained boy.

His own sorrow rose up inside of him. He let it grow and then let it go, passing it into the Force. The boy had been special, but no one, not even a Chosen One, could live up to all that had been put onto Anakin.

And that was the tragedy. They had expected too much from a boy who did all that he could, but it could never be enough.

The Jedi Order had learned a bitter lesson here.

The question that remained was: what is going to happen now?


	6. YODA

Yoda noticed Mace's subtle restlessness, really, everyone here was restless. Everyone was uncertain and a bit scared. Yoda tried to concentrate in the Force, but everything was still clouded by the Dark Side.

With Anakin gone, who would bring balance to the Force now? While it was true that the future was always in motion Yoda had been quite certain that Anakin was the one who would bring things into balance.

Now, it seemed, Anakin would do no such thing. Still, Anakin was now one with the Force, and as such. . .

Yoda left the thought hanging, but the implications were there. Perhaps young Skywalker was even better situated than ever before to bring the Force into balance.

Yoda eyed Obi-Wan, the man was suffering deeply. It was a sad thing to see. Obi-Wan had become so attached to young Skywalker that suffering was the only natural result. Just looking at Obi-Wan Yoda could tell that he was broken. Broken, possibly never to be repaired. This too was saddening. Obi-Wan was a devoted Jedi who gave all of himself to the Order. Now, his attachment to Anakin was tearing him apart. Anakin was gone, Obi-Wan's suffering would remain, perhaps, forever.

Yoda let out a small sigh. The future was going to be difficult. Difficult, yes, but not impossible. There was reason to hope, because of Anakin. Yet, in the meantime everyone was going to be preoccupied with the question of: what is going to happen now?


	7. REX

While no clones had been invited to the platform ceremony Captain Rex and the rest of the 501st stood nearby watching the ceremony projected on one of the giant screens that were all over Coruscant. Rex watched as person after person stood and talked about how wonderful Anakin Skywalker had been.

None of those people knew anything about General Skywalker. None of those people knew their leader, not like the 501st did.

None of those people had been forced to trust him with their lives almost every single day. None of those people knew what it was to risk their own life to save his. None of those people would ever know the indignity of being treated as a droid with slightly less functionality. Or what a rarity it was to find someone who treated you as a human being and a soldier in that order.

None of those people knew what it was to be a virtual slave, and that being your only purpose for existence.

Except for General Skywalker, he had known. He had always treated the clones with dignity. He would be sorely missed.

General Skywalker had always treated Captain Rex like he was a normal person. General Skywalker treated every clone with respect; he had mourned every one that had been lost.

Captain Rex sometimes felt that Anakin was as much a clone as the rest of his Kaminoian brethren. Anakin got it. He understood. Anakin knew what a bizarre position they were brought into. They had been made as soldiers but not citizens, to fight a war they had no interest in, for a government they barely knew existed.

It was an odd situation for certain. But Anakin had always sympathized with their plight. He had fought for them whenever he could in whatever ways possible. Rex had always appreciated that.

While the war was on and the clones had a job to do no one had the time to think about anything else.

But now the war was over.

The Republic didn't need an army.

Anakin was dead.

There was no one left to advocate for them.

Rex, the 501st, all the clones, were left hanging in limbo.

No one had cared for them like Anakin had.

Rex breathed in deeply, keeping his un-soldierly emotions at bay. The life he knew was gone, he did not know what to expect from the future.

Uttering softly Rex mused aloud. "What is going to happen now?"


	8. AHSOKA

Lingering at the edge of the crowd of clone troopers Ahsoka gazed up at the screen where Anakin's memorial was being projected. Her master was dead. Anakin, who tried to train her as a Jedi, was dead.

She hadn't seen him since she had left the Order, she still couldn't believe it. She still couldn't take it in. Anakin had been indestructible. Anakin was gone. Fleeting thoughts crossed her mind. Would he still be alive no if she had stayed when he had asked her to? Would she have been there and been able to keep him from getting killed? Was there anything that she could have done to stop this?

She didn't think so.

A twinge of guilt passed through her still. Anakin had needed her. He asked her to stay for him. She had said "no", she had refused. If she hadn't, maybe he would still be alive.

But that was all over. She could not live in the past.

Leaving the Jedi had been the hardest thing she had ever done, but she had had to do it. She hoped that her actions hadn't been the cause of Anakin's death.

She could not blame herself. She hadn't even been there. If anyone could take care of himself, Anakin could. But this time, he hadn't.

She was sad Anakin was gone; he had been a real light in the Force. He had always cared so much that whatever he did, he did it with all of himself.

He was the person she had missed the most upon leaving the Jedi Order. She felt as though she had let him down. There had been no other choice for her, but it had not been an easy one all the same.

With Anakin's death it made her wonder, would the Force be brought into balance? Never for a moment had she doubted that Anakin was the Chosen One, or that he possessed the power to bring balance to the Force. But where was all of that now?

And the clones, what was to happen to them now that the war was over?

And the Jedi, what would they do? They had been drawn into the war, stepping away from their role as peacekeeper. They had been militarized and bureaucratized to the point of ineffectiveness. Could they go back? Was it possible to move forward?

Everything was a mess, everything was so unsure. The question on her lips and on everyone else's: What is going to happen now?


	9. EPILOGUE

Standing on the breezy platform trying to get a handle on his grief a small sensation came over Obi-Wan. A small feeling of warmth filled him for an instant, then fleetingly it moved on. While it only lasted for an instant the brief sensation left Obi-Wan with a glimmer of courage.

Likewise, Padmé, as she felt torn asunder, felt a small warming that buoyed her spirit making her feel almost whole again.

And Palpatine, as he stewed in his failure, felt a chill settle on him like a weight, felt a cold grip of dread seize him, and no matter how hard he tried he could not shake it.


End file.
